Decisions, Decisions...

After much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, I have decided what sweaters to knit for the boys this season. (For those not in-the-know, I knit them new sweaters each winter.)  Last year the sweaters were cabled, so this year I thought that I would change it up and go with stripes. The pattern I decided on is the (aptly named) Boys Striped Sweater. And it happens to be free...score!

Boy's Striped Sweater photo courtesy of Prima Knitting Magazine.

Love the way it hangs, especially the straight bottom. I'm pretty excited to cast-on and can't wait until my yarn arrives from WEBS. And...speaking of the yarn...

Admittedly, my indecision on this yarn selection has been annoying to everyone around me. I have been pouring over cotton DK weight yarn choices online...looking for the perfect color/texture for the stripes. I know, I should be shopping at my local yarn shop (and I'd rather), but they aren't open after I get kids to bed. And lately, that's all the time I have.


The problem I have with shopping online is that the options are just so overwhelming. Color-wise, do I go with heathered, saturated or subtle tones? And when you can't see and feel the actual fibers, it's hard appreciate the qualities of each brand. I have been shopping online for this yarn for weeks. But I threw the gauntlet down (with myself) yesterday, I'd had enough. I needed to narrow the playing field so I could focus. Tick-tock. The leaves are turning already.


I decided to go with something I knew. Milk yarn. I love that stuff. I've made a couple things in the past out of Rowan's Milk Yarn. It knits up beautifully and time has told that it wears like iron. Sadly, when searching online, I discovered that my beloved Rowan was phasing out this line. They still seem to have it in "fine", but the DK is discontinued. Sniff.

Abel jumper knit in Rowan's Milk DK.

Farmer Fox was also knitted (and washed many times since) in Rowan Milk DK.

Luckily, a company called Viking of Norway is carrying what seems to be the same exact milk yarn fiber in a delicious array of colors. I stumbled upon them when searching on WEBS and promptly ordered 2 skeins each of green, blue, and brown to add to a couple of beige skeins I already have in my stash. It was on sale for $5.29/skein so I was pretty stoked that these sweaters weren't going to end up costing me a fortune. It looks just like the Rowan I am used to, hopefully I will fall in love when the package comes in the mail. I'm sure I will. I'm notoriously "easy" when it comes to soft, colorful skeins.

Viking of Norway's Milk and Honey collection...yummy!

Let's hope by the weekend I will be casting on for a green-beige striped sweater with brown trim and a blue-beige sweater with brown trim. My plate is very full these days dear friends...there will be so much to share here the next few months. :)

–Cassandra